Britt Hatzius (England/Germany)

Blind Cinema

From theatre artist Britt Hatzius, here’s a chance to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Audience members are seated in a theatre, with a row of children behind them, and together they experience a movie. The film has no dialogue and audience members are blindfolded, with the children describing to them in whispers. It’s a mischievous experiment in storytelling, reversing the traditional power dynamic between adults and children.

In this collaboration between adult and child, there are layers of mediation the film moves through; it transforms as it passes from one mind to another. Sight, then speech, then hearing—with each step something is lost. But much more is gained: a bond of trust, the chance to join forces across an age gap, a great widening of the imagination. At the movies, we watch with the lights off. Here the darkness is doubled, and so is the power to dream—to use the silver screen within.

[A] fascinating meditation on observation, entertainment and shared experience. And her performers are exceptional.